Documentary on gun violence debate features UC Davis physician

Garen Wintemute, an emergency room physician and public health epidemiologist at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, is among the experts featured in the HBO documentary “Gun Fight,” which premieres at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The documentary, directed by two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple, looks at the complex issues surrounding firearms and debate over how best to reduce gun violence in the U.S., according to a news release.

Kopple filmed Wintemute and emergency department physicians and nurses in December 2008. The level 1 trauma center cares for patients from a 33-county area of Northern California, treating more than 4,750 trauma cases each year.

A professor of emergency medicine and director of the UCD Violence Prevention Research Program, Wintemute’s research has recorded both questionable and blatantly illegal transactions at gun shows and revealed their potential to serve as places where criminals can easily obtain firearms.